Section 17 Notice under the Freedom of Information Act 2000

WITHHOLDING INFORMATION

Section 22(1) states that information intended for future publication is exempt information if:

(a) the information is held by the public authority with a view to its publication, by the authority or any other person, at some future date (whether determined or not), (b) the information was already held with a view to such publication at the time when the request for information was made, and (c) it is reasonable in all the circumstances that the information should be withheld from disclosure until the date of publication

Section 22 is a qualified exemption which means that the decision to disclose the requested material is subject to a public interest test.

The CPS acknowledges that there is a public interest in demonstrating the transparency of the prosecution process and the performance of the organisation.

Data held regarding prosecutions of Corporate Manslaughter in 2020 will be made available in 2021.

The timetable for publication allows for the review and validation of the figures/information to be included in the report and to release this information ahead of schedule would compromise the accuracy and completeness of the data and supporting information.

On balance, I do not consider that it would be in the public interest to disclose the information requested ahead of schedule.